Friday, August 5, 2016

Nakao to continue as ADB president

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors has unanimously reelected Takehiko Nakao as the president of ADB for a five-year term beginning from November 24.
Issuing a statement on Friday, ADB said that Nakao was first elected to the post on April 28, 2013, to serve the remaining three and half years term of his predecessor, Haruhiko Kuroda.
Nakao is the ninth President of ADB. He was the sole nominee after ADB's Governors were invited from May 31 to June 30, 2016 to make nominations for the organisation's presidency.
“It is a great honour to receive the mandate of ADB members to serve as President of the ADB for another five years,” Nakao is quoted in the statement. "I will devote myself to continuing to lead ADB to an even more elevated standing as the primary development institution in the region that helps achieve inclusive and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.”
During Nakao's first term, ADB has realigned its strategic priorities through the Midterm Review of Strategy 2020 and increased its lending capacity from $13 billion in 2014 to $20 billion by 2020 through the merger of Asian Development Fund operations with the Ordinary Capital Resources balance sheet, the statement said, adding that the scaling up of its operations has already made good progress.
Last year, ADB's loan and grant approvals reached a record $16.3 billion, including private sector operations of $2.6 billion which is also a record high. ADB's Board of Governors in May approved a replenishment of the Asian Development Fund of $3.8 billion.
Under Nakao's leadership, ADB has also implemented institutional reforms including delegating more authority to resident missions, streamlining procurement and other procedures, establishing the Office of Public-Private Partnership (PPP), and strengthening sector and thematic expertise, according to the multi lateral development partner.
Prior to joining ADB in 2013, Nakao was a senior official in the Ministry of Finance, Japan, where he gained extensive experience in international finance and development. Nakao also taught international finance as a Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo in 2010 and 2011.
Born in 1956, Nakao holds a BA in Economics from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.